Sora took a deep breath, steeling his nerves. “I accept your challenge,” he said, his voice carrying across the gathered captains. “But let me make a request. If I lose today, I’ll want a remat three days, before the war resumes.”
A murmur of surprise spread through the crowd. A level 62 challenging a level 95 pyer and g he could surpass them him in just three days? It sounded like arroganaybe just ignorahe captains exged gnces, w whether Sora was bold or simply delusional.
But Richard wasn’t ughing. He had seen that look in Sora’s eyes before. It was the same look he had worn when he was 13 years old, telling his parents and friends he would be the stro pyer in their city. He had been mocked, dismissed as a kid with impossible goals, but he had fought and cwed his way to the top of Europe. Now, as he stood before this man with that same fire in his eyes, Richard couldn’t bring himself to mock him.
He nodded slowly. “Alright,” he said, his voice quiet but firm. “When I win, there’ll be a remat three days. And I’ll win again.”
There was no doubt in Richard’s mind. He was a genius who had fought above his level many times, but the gap between him and Sora was immense. Level suppression was crushing, and the differen their strength was too great for Sora to overe in just three days. Still, Richard respected the ambition he saw in Sora.
The crowd parted, creating a circle around the two. Sora prepared himself mentally, knowing this would be one of the toughest battles he had ever faced.
[You have accepted the duel against Pyer Richard Dosse.
Win Reward : 1780 RP
Loss Penalty RP Dedu: - 5 RP.
Current RP : 500 RP (0 win, 0 loss)]
Sora had used the dueling system. With his identity ge, all that history had been wiped .
He knew how the Ranking Points worked. Even pyers with a huge level gap could challenge each other, with the weaker one earning massive points if they mao win. Makes sense, in theory... Sora mused. But it was also easy to abuse. Pyers cheated the system to rack up points. Not that it matters much. Everyone knows RP isn’t really worth anything, as it couldn't be used to do anything but show off.
As Sora and Richard stepped into the arena, a magical barrier flickered to life around them, f a sacred duel ring. The shining dome sealed them in, ensuring that no damage would fall oors. The rules of the New World applied here—ohe fight was over, both partits would be restored to full health, as if the battle had never happened.
A fg appeared between them, h above the leveled ground of the arena, signaling the start of the duel. The circur space allowed them to move freely, no obstacles in sight, just the wide, ft battlefield. Above them, a tdown shimmered in the sky, eaumber tig down as the tension mounted.
Sora’s heart raced as he fully buffed himself. His body was humming with power, muscles coiled like springs, ready to unleash everything he had. He khis fight would be difficult. Richard was leagues ahead in level, strength, and experience. But Sora thought 'I have survived every challenge before... Well maybe not..'
[Duel is about to start]Three... Two... One.
The fg shot upward, disappearing into the sky. The duel had begun.
Without wasting a sed, Sora summoned his staff and i with mana. The legendary staff crackled with energy, glowing as it lengthened and hardened. He would have to strike from a distance first, testing the waters, looking for any opening he could exploit.
Sora swung the [Monkey King's Staff] with all his might, sending a wave of trated mana rushing toward Richard. The attack cracked through the air, sharp and powerful. But Richard didn’t even flinch. He stood there, calm, unmoving, almost... bored.
Sora frowned, pushing harder. He swung again, sending another mana-itack, this time more focused, aiming directly at Richard’s chest. The impact hit dead on, but Richard barely even blihe strike dissipated against him like a gentle breeze.
Sora's heart sank. He could feel the gap between them—a chasm that widened with every failed attack. Richard wasn’t even defending himself. He was letting Sora hit him, letting him unleash everything he had, and it wasn’t doing anything.
There was a sense of helplessness creeping into Sora’s mind, but he shook it off. He couldn’t stop. He had to keep trying. Arike, another flurry of attacks—eae as useless as the st. It was like hitting a wall of iron.
Then, without warning, Richard disappeared.
Before Sora could react, a crushing force hit him from behind, and he was smmed into the ground with oating blow. The impact sent shockwaves through the arena, and his mana shield popped instantly, shattering uhe sheer force of Richard’s hit.
Sasped, his vision spinning, his on [Ruyi Jingu Bang] flying away. But his mana shield was ref, flickering bato p the blink of an eye, ready to protect him once more.
It didn’t matter.
Richard was already there, grabbing the thin membrane of the shield between his fingers like it was nothing more than a fragile sheet. With a casual pinch, he popped it again, shattering Sora’s defenses for a sed time. Sora’s eyes widened. His shield—his most reliable line of defense so far—was useless.
A powerful punch drove into Sora’s stomach, and the world turned darker for Sora. He doubled over, blood and bile spewing from his mouth as the blow sent waves of pain through his entire body. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
The captains watg weren’t surprised. They had seen Richard fight before. He was friendly, yes—kind, even—but otlefield, he was a demon. His strength was overwhelming, his skills hoo perfe.
But Richard, for his part, was surprised. He had been holding back, using only a fra of his strength, enough to incapacitate most Phoenix-level pyers. But Sora... Sora's body was different. His bones should have shattered from that punch, but instead, he was still holding on.
"Stubborn, huh?" Richard muttered, grabbing Sora by the hair and lifting him to his feet. "Do you want to give up?"
Sora’s entire body screamed in pain, his vision blurred by blood and tears, but he mao force the words out through ched teeth, blood dripping from his mouth. "No."
Richard sighed, almost pitying the determination he saw in Sora’s eyes. He lifted Sain, then smmed his head into the ground with a brutal force. Owice. Three times.
The siing crack of bones echoed through the silent arena. The crowd watched in stunned silence. Only Kara’s sobs could be heard, her hands c her mouth as she watched helplessly from the sidelines.
"Please, stop!" Kara’s voice broke through the quiet, her words trembling with fear and anguish.
Richard paused, gng toward her. The fight was already over. Sora had ance left in him. He let go of Sora’s limp form, stepping back as the tension in the air faded.
The duel was over. Sora hadn’t stood a ce. He y there on the ground, bloodied and broken, uo fight back.
As Sora y on the ground, his body slowly healing from the effects of the magical arena, a sharp chime echoed in his mind—a notification. His heart sank as the system message appeared in front of him, its cold, ral tone mog the depth of his failure.
[Duel Lost][You have lost the duel against Pyer Richard Dosse. RP Dedu: -15 RP.]
The words burned into his mind, each line a harsh reminder of what had just happened.
Sora stared at the notification, the weight of it pressing down on his chest. The fight had ended, but the defeat lingered. He had fought battles where the odds were against him before—he had oftehe underdog, the one who had to fight harder, push further since his reset. But this time was different. This time, he hadn’t even e close.
Around him, the captains and vice-captains walked away, their voices drifting through the air as they spoke to one another.
“He didn’t stand a ce.”
“He only lost 15 RP ? Hoas his arena rank ? Probably didn't duel mu the past.”
“All that talking and 0 damage doo Richard. I didn't expect much, but I'm still disappointed”
The ents cut deeper than any wound Richard had inflicted. The mockery, the disappoihey hurt, but what hurt the most was how real they were. For ohey weren’t just doubting him; they were right. He had thought he could at least hold his own, but he hadn’t stood a ce.
Lying there, Sora felt a knot tightening in his chest. He had grown so used to winning tely, to defying expectations, that this loss—this crushing, undeniable defeat—felt like a blow to everything he had built. He had been sidered a genius tely and he almost got used to people admiring his strength, to surprise everyone in assessments. But not today.
The healing magic of the arena tio work, soothing the physical wounds. 'It is like that day... My death in the level 80 zone back when I was a Mana Amplifier..' He thought back to that fateful day when he had died in his sed life, crushed by the overwhelming power of a beast far beyond his level.
The gap in power between him and Richard was suffog. His mana shield had shattered like gss, his attacks had been brushed aside, and his body had been battered with ease. Richard had toyed with him, ping the mana shield like it was a child’s toy before smashing him into the ground.
Sora ched his fists, for the first time in a long time, he felt small—insignifit in the face of power he couldn’t match.
As the captains' footsteps faded and their remarks became a distant hum, Sora y there, staring up at the sky. He had always been willing to push through before, but now... he didn’t know. He had been s through life ever since he gained his powers, but now it felt like he had crashed to the ground, and he wasn’t sure how—or if—he could pick himself back up.
He wao scream, to push the pain away, but instead, he y there, letting the world tinue around him, unmoved by his suffering. The magical healing was plete now. Physically, he was fine, but inside... inside, everything still felt broken.
'How I face the other captains again ? This is ... humiliating. I don't want to face them anymore'
His pride, his fide felt like something inside him had cracked, and he wasn’t sure if it would heal as easily as his bones had.
For now, all he could do was lie there, staring at the sky, lost in the echo of defeat.
mimou
